


Cause even when she's next to me, we could not be more far apart

by my_little_nightmare



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: F/F, hnnng gay, slighlty angsty ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28637733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_little_nightmare/pseuds/my_little_nightmare
Summary: here’s another wlw renegades fic dkfsdhf.  Noby royalty oneshot.  Ruby is a princess, and Nova is her guard.  After an assassin almost kills Ruby, and traps them inside a closet, Nova struggles with guilt over letting Ruby into danger, and for her feelings for the princess.  While others work to free them, Ruby and Nova get closer while together.
Relationships: background nobell, nova artino/ruby tucker
Kudos: 5





	Cause even when she's next to me, we could not be more far apart

**Author's Note:**

> okay, i didnt really ship noby before writing this, but i've realized how much potential they have together. Like,,, they just work so well. Anyways i love them <333

Ruby hurried through the halls, her long dress spreading out behind her. The constant sound of footsteps was still behind her. Her shadow.   
Ruby groaned. “Nova, you don’t need to watch me constantly. I’m just walking around the castle, I don’t need a babysitter.”  
“Sorry princess. I have my orders,” Nova responded stiffly. Her brown eyes glittered under her helmet, and her black hair curled up slightly.   
Ruby felt herself automatically begin to smile.   
“Stop it!” She scolded herself mentally. She had to stop getting so distracted by her guard. They couldn’t be together, and they both knew that. Well, at least Ruby did. Nova knew, but why would she care? To her, Ruby was just the princess. Ruby was her future queen.   
But Ruby loved her. She loves everything about Nova, and knew she couldn’t do a single fucking thing about it.   
“So,” Ruby said awkwardly. “How’s guarding and stuff?”  
Nova stifled a giggle. “Princess, I can’t talk.”  
“Oh, come on,” Ruby whined. “Would it kill you to loosen up for once?”  
Nova sighed. “It could. It could kill me, and you, and countless others. Please Princess, stop distracting me, and let me do my job.” Nova raised her head up, her eyes staring into nothingness, hand on her sword’s pommel, ready to defend Ruby at a moment's notice.   
“Alright.” Ruby sighed. “Do what’s best then.” They lapsed back into silence. Until a body crashed through the window in front of them, sending glass shards into the carpet, and their ankles.   
“Get back Ruby!” Nova shouted. She drew her sword, and forced herself between Ruby and the attacker.   
Ruby. Nova had called her Ruby. She felt a chill travel down her spine as she recalled the exact way Nova had said it. RubyRubyRuby. She could listen to Nova’s rough voice say her name for the rest of her life.   
The attacker sprinted towards Nova, two daggers in hand.   
Nova’s eyes hardened, and with a practiced ease, she dodged her assailant's attacks. Metal clashed against metal. Nova met each of the assassins' strikes, and responded with a flurry of her own.   
Ruby watched it all from the side, pressing as tight to the wall as she could.   
“Nova, are you okay?” Ruby shouted.   
“Never better,” Nova replied. She clashed her swords down hard on the attackers daggers. The metal fell to the floor with a thump, and Nova stood triumphant, sword tip placed against the attackers throat.   
“Why are you trying to kill the princess?” Nova hissed.   
They didn’t respond.   
Nova let the sword fall, and yanked them up by their shirt color, and shoved them against the wall.   
“Tell me!” She shouted. “Why did you try to kill Ruby?” With each word, she banged them against the wall.   
“Nova!” Ruby yelled. “Stop, you're hurting them!”   
Nova seemed to snap back to her senses. She let the assassin fall to the ground, and rushed back to Ruby.   
“Are you alright, your highness?” Nova asked, nothing but formalality in her words.   
Ruby nodded. “What happened?”  
Nova shrugged. “I can’t tell. I’m sorry Princess.”  
“It’s okay.” Ruby attempted what she thought was a reassuring smile, but she couldn’t tell if it looked more like a grimace.   
“I’ll take you back to your quarters. You’ll be safe-“. Nova froze. The assassin had risen to their knees, and clasped a collection of packets, and fuses in their hand. A bomb.   
“Ruby, look out!” Nova screamed, and shoved the two of them into a nearby closet.   
The bomb exploded. Nova managed to yank the door shut as the wave of flame and heat shot outwards.   
Ruby burst into coughs. Smoke hung heavy in the air.   
“Nova?” Ruby asked in a quavering voice.   
“I’m here Princess. I’m here.” The room was pitch black, but Ruby managed to locate Nova’s voice. She wriggled closer, until they bumped into each other.   
“What happened?”  
Ruby could feel Nova’s shoulders shrug. “The assassin's bomb must have partially collapsed the hallway. But, it seems like the fire is now extinguished. So we aren’t going to suffocate.”  
“But we’re trapped,” Ruby finished, saying the bad news Nova didn’t want to say.   
“Yeah,” Nova said heavily. “We’re trapped. But there’s no way they missed the explosion. A rescue team will be here soon, and they’ll clear a path for us to escape.”  
“That could take ages! We’ll be in here for who knows how long.”  
“I know.” Nova started to rise slowly. “Are you injured?”  
“A little bruised. Nothing serious. What about you?”  
“I’m fine. I’ll see if I can find anything useful in here.” She shuffled away, slowly making her away from Nova.   
A light flared behind Ruby, and she spun to see Nova lighting a candle with a smoking match.   
“Oh,” Ruby breathes. “You scared me.”  
Nova blushed. “Sorry Princess.”   
Ruby laughed. “It’s okay. Come on, sit down. We have time.”  
She shook her head. “I should try and help clear a path from this side.” She tried to haul a piece of debris out of the large wall blocking them from their escape.   
Nova grunted, then stumbled backwards landing on her butt with a thud.   
Ruby winced. “Are you okay?”  
Nova nodded. “Fine.” She rose back up. “Let me try again.”  
“Nova… we’re going to get out of here. You don’t need to hurt yourself trying to move this all yourself. Just be patient.”  
Nova spun around, fire in her eyes. “I have to get us out of here. It’s my job to protect you, and I’m not fulfilling my duty if you’re trapped in here.”  
She tried another piece, and using all of her weight, she tugged it out, one inch at a time. Finally, it popped loose, sending Nova stumbling back. The debris fell to the ground with a loud crash.   
The wall of debris groaned, and started to shift in. Rocks fell down, into the small closet.   
Ruby screamed and yanked Nova backwards, pulling her to safety. The sound of the two girls breathing was all that filled the small space.   
“You can’t try that again,” Ruby said. “It’s too dangerous. You're just going to kill us both. Let the others decide how to approach this. They have experience.”  
Nova nodded. Ruby noticed two lines of tears cutting through the dust on Nova's face, but she didn’t say anything.   
“Ugh!” Nova screamed. She kicked a rock, sending it skittering across the floor. “I feel so useless. I’m sorry, your highness. This is all my fault.” She sat down, and brought her knees to her chest.   
Ruby laughed in surprise. “That’s ridiculous! How could this be your fault?”  
“I’m supposed to protect you. When the assassin attacked, my mind went completely blank with rage. I was furious that they would even dare think about hurting about you. The only thing I could focus on was getting revenge. And when I defeated them, I wanted to kill them for it. But you stopped me, and I snapped out of my trance. I made sure you were okay, and I was so relieved I let them almost kill you again.” Nova hung her head. “I shouldn’t be trusted as your guard. Once we get out of here, I’ll resign. It’s for the best.”   
“No,”. Ruby said, her commanding voice surprising herself. “You aren’t resigning. You are the best guard I’ve ever had, and it would be stupid if I let you slip away.”   
“Princess, I’m doing what’s best for you. I’m resigning, and that’s final.”  
Ruby shook her head. “You can’t resign. That’s an order from your princess. You are the closest thing I have to a friend, and I’m not giving that up.” Ruby shifted closer, letting their shoulders touch. She paused, then rested her head in Nova. Both girls tensed, but slowly relaxed as their breathing filled the quiet space.   
“You should,” Nova whispered. “I’ve been terrible to you. All you wanted was a friend, but instead I put my job first.”  
“No. You put my life first. I put you in a bad situation. Two things I shouldn’t have made you choose between.”  
Nova inhaled sharply. “That’s not the only reason I didn’t want to get close.” The air between them was charged, like lightning about to strike.   
“What do you mean?” They both whispered each word cautiously, as if they weren’t careful, they’de scare each other off. Ruby’s heart rang in her head.   
“I mean…”. Nova bit her lip, and shifted so they were face to face. She took Ruby’s hand in her own. “I mean, I like you in a way I shouldn’t. If we become friends, I’m worried that my feelings will get in the way of my duties.”  
“Nova… what are you saying?”  
Nova inhaled deeply. “Stars, you’re an idiot. Ruby… I love you. Despite the fact that there’s a million reasons I can’t, I still do.”   
Ruby stared at her in shock. This must be a dream. She would wake in a few minutes, Nova standing guard outside. Nova liked her. It seemed too good to be true.”   
Nova groaned. “Why did I say that? I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have-“  
Ruby grabbed her face. “Shut up,” she whispered, then kissed her the way she had fantasized doing for years.   
“Gladly,” Nova breathed. “I never thought that you… y’know, like girls.”   
Ruby grinned. “I’m not the perfect princess.”  
“Well, I guess I’m not the perfect guard.”   
“Perfection is overrated. I’d rather be me.”  
Nova’s expression soured. “Ruby… we can’t happen. There can’t be an us.”   
“What do you mean? Of course there can!”  
“No.” Nova gently rubbed Ruby’s hands. “You have too much pressure on you as a princess. The world won’t let a princess and her guard be together. No one will stand for it. It might even do enough damage to start a civil war. And I can’t afford to lose my job. I need it.”  
“Well, we can be together in secret! We can figure something out.”  
Nova shook her head sadly. “You and I both know secrets have a way of getting out. Once we get out of here, everything between us is over. I’ll transfer to a different part of the palace.” Nova sniffed, and wiped her eyes. “This is for the best. For both of us.”  
Ruby nodded. “I understand. But we still have time. Can we at least enjoy each other now? In this little pocket of time, outside of reality, can we be together?”  
Nova nodded, and smiled. “Of course we can. But this is the last time. We can’t let this happen again.”  
“Shh,” Ruby whispered, putting her finger against Nova’s lips, stopping her. “Less talking, more kissing.”  
Nova laughed. “Happily.”   
Ruby felt lips flutter against her own. A small moan escaped her lips, and she ran her hands through Nova’s wild hair.   
“I won’t forget you,” Ruby murmured. “I could never forget you.”  
“Even if we can’t be together, you still have a place in my heart. I still love you,” Nova replied.   
Ruby nodded. She pressed her lips to Nova’s once more, and tried to ignore the feeling in her heart. The one telling her that this was the last time she’d ever feel this happy bliss. She could never do better than Nova. The feeling that made her want to keel over and sob.   
But nothing happened yet. Nova was still here, lips pressed against Ruby’s skin.   
She could break apart later. Now, there were too many reasons to be happy. So much to live for. Ruby had time to fall apart later. Now, she should enjoy her short moments with Nova.   
—-  
The final piece of rubble was cleared away, and Nova blinked in the bright light. Their one candle had burned out hours ago, and they had been sitting in the dark for a long time.   
“Shh,” she hissed to the guard who had just entered. “The Princess is asleep. Don’t wake her.” The guard nodded.   
“We’ve deemed it safe to leave. The captain is waiting for you to hear your report on the events,” the guard said.   
Nova nodded sharply. “Take the princess to her quarters and watch over her. Try not to wake her.” Nova turned to leave, then remembered one thing. “When she does wake, will you tell her I’m sorry… for putting her in danger?”  
“Yes, I’ll be sure to deliver your message.”  
Nova nodded gratefully. “Thank you. I’ll see you later.” She turned, and hurried away.  
—-  
Ruby woke, and blinked blearily. She lay in her soft silk sheets, sunlight streaming in from her window.   
“What happened?” She mumbled.   
“Oh, Princess Ruby, you're awake! Good.” An unfamiliar guard stood at the foot of her bed.   
“Where’s Nova?”  
“Your previous guard has been reassigned.”  
“No, none of it was her fault!” Ruby said desperately.   
“Your highness, Nova asked to be reassigned. She chose this.”   
Oh   
So everything that happened yesterday wasn’t a dream. Nova had kissed her. And kissed her, and kissed her. Nova did love her.   
But now she was gone. Forever.   
A familiar clomp of boots sounded outside, and Ruby nearly sprinted to the door. She threw it open to see Nova walking past her door, uniform of the Gatlon military on, instead of the Princess’s guard uniform.   
“Nova,” Ruby breathed.   
“Good morning Princess,” Nova said stiffly. “I’m glad you're okay after the events of yesterday.”  
“Of course I’m alright! You protected me. Nova, please come back. We can make this work.”  
Nova sighed. “I can’t. I’m leaving today.”  
“Leaving?” Ruby laughed. “You're joking.”  
“Afraid not. I’m going to the border. I’ll do my best to protect our nation from invaders.”  
“No. You can’t…”  
“I’m sorry Ruby, really I am. I hope you have a good life.” She hurried down the hall, her shoulders hunched.   
“Nova!” Ruby screamed. “Nova!” She fell to her knees, and felt warm tears stream out of her eyes.   
“I’m sorry, the new guard said. “I’ll miss her too. She and I… we used to be together. You can’t just get over Nova Artino. But… I’m here if you need help.”  
“Thank you,” Ruby sniffed. “What’s your name?”  
“Danna,” her guard said warmly. “My name is Danna Bell.”


End file.
